Delivery of Darkness
by SlippingSanity
Summary: Monsters, curses, and sacrifices were just the beginning of something more.. Axel knew work was hard, he just didn't count on his newest one having the possibility of killing him. AxelRoxas RikuSora CloudLeon ZexionDemyx and more
1. Chapter One: The new job

SlippingSanity : Hey all! This story is going to replace 'Where the heck is my frikkin' stereotype?'. I just could not get that story to go the way I wanted it to. I hope that you are not disappointed in me. If you are, let me know and I'll try (that being the keyword) to get that working if you all really, really want it. Once more, I apologize for my total suckage. I hope that you all do enjoy this story. I'm trying out something new and am already working on the second chapter so hopefully that will be up before I leave town...again...sighs...

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square enix and to those who contributed to its creation...

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Chapter One: The new job

_"-time to wake up out there! This is your favorite station turning out all of your favorite tracks! Now, let's get into some—"_

A large hand slammed down on the gray plastic alarm attempting to put the thing on snooze. _Just five more minutes_ he promised himself with a groan, his long fingers running annoyed tracks over the square device as he blindly tried for the snooze button. He released a displeased groan and flipped onto his back when the music increased in volume instead of taking a ten minute quiet break. Green eyes heavy from sleep looked without seeing the cream colored ceiling of his apartment bedroom, his arms straight at his sides on top of his dark colored cover. So. He was up. And the time was?

He slowly turned toward his night stand to check and nearly fell out of his bed at the numbers being displayed in neon yellow light. He sat up in bed and pulled the alarm clock as close to him as the cord would allow and blinked once…twice…yawned and blinked once more because there was no way the time was right.

What was his alarm doing going off at five in the morning?

"Wha—?" He paused before he could adequately express his displeasure and disbelief as his memory answered every question he had about the time set for the alarm. Frowning, he dropped the alarm clock back on the wooden desk before throwing himself angrily back in his bed. That was right. He had recently gotten a job at a delivery service and had already been through as much orientation as they could give. Instead of riding with someone else, today was his first day delivering packages on his own. It was fantastic, awesome really.

Throwing his pillow at the ceiling and stomping toward the bathroom, he decided that it really, really sucked waking up this early.

The water ran freely from the faucet and down the drain and he grimaced. It always took a few seconds longer than he had patience for the hot water to actually turn hot. Plucking his plastic toothbrush from its holder, he decided that cold water wouldn't impede on his tooth brushing and wet the bristles before squeezing on some toothpaste and brushing. He stared at himself as he brushed his teeth, running a hand through his messy red hair and debating whether or not it was professional to style his hair into his traditional spikes.

"Might as well go the extra mile," he spat into the sink and carried on with the rest of his workday preparation.

XoXoXoXo

"You aren't sleepy, are you Axel? I don't want any grumpiness going on as you make the deliveries!"

Axel shook his head at the brunette haired woman standing outside in front of him with a teasing smile on her lips. "Sleepy?" He laughed. "I don't think that's possible in this weather in _these_ clothes," he waved at the still gray and blue sky and cool whether, then toward his uniform.

A dark green short sleeve button up shirt with a single pocket over the left breast was tucked into a pair of navy shorts that had creases and were folded once at the bottom with a thick black belt that carried a slightly small electronic sign pad and pen, pepper spray, and other miscellaneous items he may or may not have a need for. He wore black combat boots that were a little more clunky and stylish than the job standard and green socks that peaked at least three inches above the boot. On top of his head he wore a black hat with the company logo on this middle of it, his hair having been combed and put into a low braided ponytail that stopped a little past the bottom of his shoulder blades.

If he wanted to be honest with himself, he felt totally out of character and awkward in his uniform, but at least they allowed him to wear his red and yellow wrist band and keep on some of his silver rings, though he had to use makeup to cover up the black upside down triangles on his face below his eyes. That sucked, but at least he had a job.

The two made their way in into the plain white and cream painted building, and instantly the silence of the early morning city life and the sound of the occasional chirping bird was a thing of the past. Packages and other items of various sizes and shapes made their way down loud and rattling rolling tracks. The many people on the lines were talking loudly and laughing or complaining even louder than the next, and footsteps on the smooth floor and metal walkways above echoed about. Florescent lighting from high and hanging light fixtures glittered on all the metal, the sunlight from the many large windows surrounding the space not quite enough to do work by. The multiple beeping of different trucks making their way back into the loading area and the roar of a truck leaving sounded even from the other areas they were located.

Axel shook his head, not minding too much. "So, what do you want me to do?" He stretched his arms above his head and yawned as he followed the woman closer to a line of people checking stickers on a rack of clothing.

Just as the brunette began to speak, she was interrupted by another woman.

"You mean what do _I_ want you to do," the newest person spoke, her hands on her shaped hips as she smirked at Axel with pink lips and bright teeth, a mischievousness lurking in her green eyes. Her build was slim, her blonde hair cut short with two bangs not unlike bug antenna sticking up and back. She wore casual clothing of a tight white short sleeved baby tee with bright green sleeves and blue and yellow stripes on the chest, and a loose pair of khaki cargos held up by an orange belt and casual tennis shoes. She also wore a sweat band on her right wrist and on the left she wore a gold bracelet with an inscription Axel could not make out under the light reflection on the thing and a ring on her finger.

"The name's Larxene," she shook Axel's hand roughly in introduction, "and I am in charge. I'm taking over for my old man and mom while they're out of town." She crossed her arms over her chest, her back straight. "So you're the new hire I've been told about? You certainly don't look like much."

Axel scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry I don't look like any of the many burly men I'm sure you have around here," he replied sarcastically and heard her exclamation of outrage at his eye roll. "Besides, you certainly don't look like much yourself, honey," He pointed her way with one hand, the other sliding into his pockets and he frowned deeper. Even the inside of the pockets felt stiff and new.

"Breeding bitch hips," Larxene tossed Axel's way casually as she raised her head to look down her nose at him.

Huh. Axel didn't think that his figure was visible in the uniform, least of all his uniquely shapely hips. "Flea bite breasts," Axel casually replied with a shrug, any thought that his reply might get him immediately fired had not crossed his mind. That is, until no one replied to his comment for a full minute. Oh well, he shrugged mentally. It was fun while it lasted, and they would definitely remember him for what he did to get fir—

Larxene stared at him silently for a while before she burst out laughing. Her hands flew in the air before she wrapped them around her stomach and bent forward. "You…" she continued to laugh and compose herself, "No reservations, huh?" Her smirk was almost feral. "You are definitely going to be my favorite here." She held her hand out to him, and he could not help but to notice that her pink polished manicured nails were filed to what looked awfully close to a sharpened point. "Welcome aboard _'Bottle/Bolt' _delivery services…"

Axel took her offered hand, ignoring the way her nails bit on his skin and tapped the side of his head with the hand not in hers. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

XoXoXoXo

The afternoon sun beat down almost relentlessly on him and the lack of air conditioner in the delivery truck was in no way of any help. The only thing that was good was that he could legally drive down plenty of none busy side streets with his truck doors open (they were sliding doors that moved inside of the truck as opposed to the normal outside-the-minivan sliding doors) but with the heat on the wind, the open doors seemed like more of a hindrance than luxury.

He normally didn't mind the heat, but the constant lifting and loading/unloading of various size packages were starting to grate on his nerves. Already, he had man panicking asking his opinion on whether or not he should give the ordered delivery to his girlfriend, and some woman breaking down on him because she had received her wedding dress and did not know how to react. It was weird and a little time consuming, but in his own unique style he had convinced the man that 'yes, he should give her the gift because he would not have gotten it for her if he did not think he was ready to give it'. The woman with the wedding approaching had been slightly more difficult, but she had given him a large tip (fifty munny!) to carry the package into her basement until one of her best friends came along to hold the dress for her until she was ready.

When he left their residences, they had both thanked him with his name on their lips.

Axel gave a small smile at nothing in particular as he pulled up to his next delivery stop. He leaned casually on the steering wheel, avoiding the horn, and picked the chart of addresses up from the sun heated dashboard. The highlighted address on his chart almost made him frown outright, his smile becoming a straight line.

"_Let's see if you can do more than talk a big deal," Larxene held out a wooden clipboard with a stack papers of the names and address he had to make his delivers to._

_Axel took the clipboard easily and began flipping through the papers, frowning when one address stood out against the others. It was highlighted pink, the name was unavailable, and the house was slightly out of the company's line of delivery. "What's with this highlighted place?"_

_The workers in the background suddenly became quiet which was alarming, but not so much as the woman sitting behind a large desk with her feet crossed at the ankles on top of it. Larxene's smirk covered the bottom of her face, her bright teeth suddenly appeared to have grown sharp and deadly. If he wanted to be honest, it looked like Larxene could take a bite out of him. "Call it…Initiation. No, call hazing! That sounds sooo much better!" she crackled._

_The silence of the workers behind him became even more evident._

"_So…my test is to make this delivery?" Axel was skeptical. If this was hazing, it was far too simple._

"_Yep," she shooed him away with a wave of perfectly manicured fingers. "Oh, Axel…" she sang as he made his way out the door, "just letting you know, the last person to make a delivery to their place is in the hospital."_

Hands lazily tossed the clipboard aside and a scoff was heard as the wood clacked against the dashboard. He was not easily scared, especially not by some stupid threat or lack thereof from Larxene. It was his job to make the delivery and as he raised the package into his hands and made his way out of his truck, Axel decided that he would do it. He may not have liked the job he was doing and it was honestly not his first choice, but he was doing it and he would do it well.

The surrounding trees rustled their leaves as a wind blew the breeze cooler than any he had felt all day. The slap of his boots against the concrete path was audible in the silence that took place regardless of the cars driving up and down the next block over. The grass was a little overgrown and grew in patches of the cracks of the walkway that led to the white painted stained glass door of the two story blue house, and the red paint that coated the steps seemed unnecessary and chipped. Axel shook his head but made no expression otherwise. It was still way better than his one room apartment.

A chime rang loudly as he pressed the doorbell and waited. No curtains were open, except for the open window on the left on the second floor of the house. There was no call out for him to wait and, after he had rang the bell a second time and leaned in close to the door, there were no hurried footsteps to the door.

Axel rolled his eyes and leaned back. "Hello?" he called out annoyedly with a roll of his eyes. Had Larxene sent him to an abandoned house to get back at him for the one comment? That was childish and stupid but he wouldn't put it past her even though he only knew her for a few hours before he left to make his first alone delivery. She seemed like the sadistic type that would do something petty just to tick someone off. Axel grumbled under his breath, "Stupid bi—"

"Hello?" someone called as the stained glass door opened with an almost ominous creak. A teenage boy stood in the doorway; his clothing rumpled askew and, if Axel had to guess, belonged to someone else. The black shirt he had on fell off one shoulder and stopped halfway down his thighs, and one hand held up shorts that looked like they might have fit if they were properly put on. His feet were bare and his brunet hair was in spikes that flew in every direction. He cleared his throat and caught Axel's attention from his dress state to his eyes. They were a clear blue that stood out large against his slightly tanned skin.

"Yeah, total mess, huh?" He joked lightly as he raised a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"Honestly? Yeah," Axel laughed at the smaller male.

"Hey!" He mock pouted, "It's better than that uniform of yours!"

"Touché," Axel held the package out to the other. "…Roxas Strife?" He asked awkwardly reading the name on the electronic signature pad, "That you?"

The other boy froze in the doorway, his eyes slowly looking back into the darkness of the house. "Uh," once again he was scratching the back of his head, about that…

"Sora! What's taking so long?" the brunet flinched as another voice called out from the house. It didn't sound too much different from a teenager's tone so Axel wasn't expecting too much when the speaker did come in the doorway. He had blond hair that was slightly less spiky than the brunet, and it was brushed to the side. The state of dress was the same as the brunet, the white shirt falling from his opposite shoulder and jeans barely on his hips as he looked up at Axel with eyes a color the redhead was hard-pressed to believe.

"Who are you?" the blond glared, his arms crossed over his chest.

He could have answered the question but he remained stunned by the blond. His eyes… "Your eyes…" Axel frowned and leaned down to the blond who looked taken aback by the question.

"What are you talking about?" the brunet, Sora was his name, stood closer to the blond and took his hand. Axel barely noticed the action and the fact that Roxas' skin was paler than Sora's as he leaned in closer.

It was wrong, he knew. It was a massive violation of the boy's personal space to the point that if someone were to look inside from out they would assume Axel was a pedophile leaning in to kiss the smaller boy, but he could not help himself. The eyes were pulling him in and not letting go, winning the brief mental battle Axel had had with himself and all he'd know to be right and polite. A stranger does not lean in this close to another stranger they come across, they do not. So why was he?

The name rolled off of his tongue as easily as if he were saying his own name. "Roxas," Axel whispered, "Your eyes…" he repeated and continued to stare into their depths a breath away from the blond. "…they're gold!"

Large gold irises with a slit stood out boldly against black, staring back at Axel with surprise, anger, and fear. "What?" the holder of such a bizarre phenomenon breathed slowly as he took a step back.

Stinging and burning snapped Axel out of his daze, and he abruptly brought a hand to his cheek. The blond had slapped him! "Hey, what the hell? !"

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you better now? Have your eyes fixed themselves or do you need further help?" one of his hands was in his sagging pants pocket, the other in Sora's hand with fingers laced.

Taking another look, his stomach fell at the sight. Plain blue eyes. They were just like Sora's blue, clear bold against his face, but nonetheless blue.

Axel shook his head, his braid making its way over one of his shoulders. Man, the heat must be affecting him worse than he thought. Gold and black eyes? Really? "'m fine. Sorry about that…" Axel mumbled then held out the package he had to deliver. "I have a package for a Roxas Strife," he repeated, holding out the square package to the blond with a smile on his face. "That's you, right? Sorry about the whole…"

"It's okay," Roxas nodded, taking the package and handing it over to Sora. "I'm just surprised you delivered here," He held his hand palm up to take the signing device.

"Really?" Axel passed him the device and the plastic electronic pen to sign, "Why? I mean, it's a stretch and more than a little out of the way, but you all are in _Bottle/Bolt_'s district."

Roxas froze, the pen stilled as he stared up at Axel. "You don't know?" When Axel shook his head the negative Roxas sighed and shared a look with Sora. The look he gave Axel made the man not want to know but he did not say of do anything to stop Roxas.

"Every time, and I mean _every time_ one of you guys come here to make a delivery something bad happens," Roxas explained and tightened his hold on Sora's hand, "The second one of the three of us signs for a package and you confirm it, something bad will happen to you the moment you leave our property."


	2. Chapter Two: The uncomfortable wake up

SlippingSanity : I am so sorry that this is so short and seems brief! I just wanted to put this out for all of you because I am leaving soon and I will not have internet access. I hope that you all understand and, as always, enjoy!

**I would like to say Thank You :D! to Khuronji and reviewer for their reviews! Thank you guys so much! I would also like to thank those who favorited/ added this story to their alerts, and those who took the time to read this story! You all make me smile!**

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and those who contributed to its creation...

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Chapter Two: The uncomfortable wake up

Disbelief was the only way to describe the feelings running through Axel. Something bad was going to happen to him the moment he leaves the house?

Yeah, right.

Axel ignored the saddened looks on their faces. "Did Larxene put you two up to this?" Axel stuffed his hands into his pockets, his bright green eyes glaring down at the two. "Is this supposed to be some sort of scare tactic, because I'm afraid you'll have to do so much better than that."

"Who's Larxene?" Sora tilted his head to the side and raised one eyebrow.

Axel shook his head and waved a dismissing hand. He was tired of the job already and he had only made the deliveries on his own one time. This was what he had to look forward to? He should just quit while he was far, far behind.

He groaned in frustration as he realized that Larxene would probably get off on him leaving after one day. Great. He was stuck doing this…this for a while. "You know what?" He took the sign pad from Roxas and entered his password, confirming the delivery, "Just tell that bitch that I freaked out and totally believed every word you two said, alright? I'm leaving now." Walking down the chipped paint and cracked walkway, Axel casually threw up a hand and waved. "Oh. Have a nice da—"

"Wait!" Sora ran after him and grabbed his arm, stopping him just before his foot crossed over onto the sidewalk. "You have to—"

"Finish my deliveries, if you don't mind." Axel sneered down at Sora. He was hot, tired, and really, really annoyed with everything in general. He did not need some stupid false superstitions on top of that. "That woman is some piece of work," he shook his head before he casually flipped his braid back over his shoulder. Inhaling a calming breath (he would get back at that blonde haired chick later) he could clearly see the hurt in the boy's blue eyes as he snatched his arm back from the brunet, but he could not find it in him to care. Ignoring Sora's stuttered protesting, Axel turned away from Sora.

Once more Axel found he could not move forward. He turned his head slowly to look at his obstacle over his shoulder. Eyes that were blue but were not glared back into his bright green eyes. Again, he fought the rebellion against warning signs blaring in his head as he met that gaze. Golden depths had taken him in once again.

Roxas's mouth was moving, he noticed. The soft, slightly chapped looking lips were making delicate movements as if the blond were spelling out something just for him…

"…fool." The one word had sliced through the mesmerizing enchantment, and Axel shook his head because Roxas's moving lips were indeed vocalizing words. With a glare that was still clouded by confusion, Axel was not happy at all to be insulted but something forced him to continue to listen. "You are an idiot and you will get what you deserve. " Here Roxas turned to Sora and met his eyes though he continued to speak at Axel. "It will be your own fault when you are carried off to the hospital. _No one else's_."

Something was being said between the two; Axel knew the world was rolling its eyes at how obvious it was. Even still, as he gave the two a disbelieving, angered huff of "huh," and freed himself from Roxas's grip, he could not figure out what the blond meant. No one else's fault, huh? Were they going to attempt to attack him or something—

Eyes widening and steps halting, Axel realized that he had, if only just a little, began to take the two boys behind him seriously. Why would that even happen? How could it happen? Roxas and Sora had not said much to back up their claim of being jinxed, only argued to Axel to stop and…and what? Don't leave? Stay there with them?

And he still thought, in any realm of existence, they were quite possibly-just maybe-almost-sort of telling the truth?

The growl he released carried on the wind and into his ears, making his own steps beat harder on the cracked pavement. One full step off of their stupid property and noth—

XoXoXoXo

_Beep…_

_Beep…_

_b_—

A groan made its way from his throat, his eyebrows furrowing as he attempted to further sleep.

_Beep…_

_Beep…_

Once more he groaned. Would that beeping never cease?

Disturbing the cocoon of welcome warmth, he groped into the air for his alarm clock. He became puzzled when nothing made itself evident immediately but was not completely surprised. There had been plenty of instances in which he had knocked his alarm clock down onto the brown carpeted floor, but usually the thing went off louder as revenge. Instead of loud music of various genres there was a steady rhythmic beeping that, no matter how much he willed it so, refused to stop.

Eyes still closed he pushed himself up into a sitting position, his warm blankets falling from his upper body and pooling around his waist. He ignored the beeping in favor of yawning and rubbing his eyes. The alarm did it. He was now awake.

"You're not dead?" someone with a voice that for some reason irritated him shrieked at him with disbelief, but instead of panic and jump out of his bed he calmly nodded his reply.

"Yeah. Not dead," he echoed though it was a few second later that he had realized what he had said. Not dead? What did that have to do with anything?

Forcing his eyes open, Axel took in his surrounding and instantly his mouth flew open. "Where the hell am I?" his green eyes swept the room back and forth rapidly. The walls around him were white and the floor was a glossed tile patter of swirled light and dark browns. A television hung in one corner of the room, the wall next to it with a large open window that made the shear yellow curtains sway in the cool breeze. Across the window was an open space where Axel was positive a door should have been but was, for some reason, not. And perhaps the most confusing of all was the sight the greeted him when he looked farther to the side.

"Larxene?" Axel frowned, noticing for the first time that his voice was gritty and his throat was dry. Why was that? What was going on? Wh—

"You fail." Larxene called out to him and laughed when Axel turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. What did he fail exactly? "You failed the hazing." She rolled her large green eyes and crossed her arms and legs at the same time. "Though you did survive, so I guess I'll let you pass…this one time." the finality in her tone of voice made Axel roll his eyes and turn away from her. It was then that he noticed the many machines and wires connecting from them to him. The IV in his arm did not do much to dispel the sour taste in his mouth as realization dawned on him.

He was in the hospital.

"Great…" he murmured with a shake of his head. He was more than positive that somewhere out there, just on the edge of _Bottle/Bolt_'s package delivery was a blond boy laughing at him. Fantas-freaking-tic.

"Larxene, how did I end up in the hospital?" Axel inwardly cringed at the hysterical laughter peeling itself from the blonde haired woman.

"You don't remember?" she teased him as she ran a hand through red spikes that was immediately slapped away.

"Just tell me," Axel glared at her and exhaled slowly, still digesting the fact that he was lying up in a hospital bed. "What. Happened." It did not feel like anything was broken or recently stitched up so, aside from the bandages, what was he doing here?

Larxene rolled her eyes and flicked a perfectly manicured had his way. "Fine, fine. I'll tell you." Her eyes glittered at him. "It was the delivery." She said boldly then leaned back in the chair as if that explained it all.

"The delivery?" Axel was sure his anger was mirrored perfectly on his face. "The delivery to the Strife house?" He almost tore out of his bed and punched her in the face when she nodded evenly, the smile that was more a smirk still on her face. Instead he shook his head and turned to her demanding she explained in perfect detail what she knew.

The smirk faded from her glossed pink lips momentarily at the threat in the redhead's voice and Axel mentally smirked at the thought of Larxene not liking his attitude. That, while a minute detail, could be useful later on…

Call it petty, but he was still annoyed with the woman.

"Fine," Larxene spoke, unknowingly snapping Axel out of his thoughts. "You want to know what happened? I'll tell you." She stood from her chair and walked toward Axel. When she bent down to see him face to face, she had her hands on her shoulders and the smirk Axel was beginning to despise larger on her lips. "You were _lucky_," here she frowned and glared as she spat the word out like venom before she continued with a smile. "but you were hit. By a car."

There was silence. Mind numbing, eardrum shattering silence for a no more than a minute before Axel broke it. A sound of disbelief that was more of a sarcastic 'did you _really_ just say that?' remark than an actual exclaim of surprise made itself known as Axel glared at Larxene and asked without question mark, "What."


	3. Chapter Three: Overnight Stay

SlippingSanity : Hello again! Here's the next chapter! Yay!

**Thank you to Liarsenic and Khuronji for your reviews! And I would also like to thank all those who read this story and those who favorited and added this story to their alerts! Thank you all so much!**

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and to those who contributed to it's creation...

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Chapter Three: Overnight Stay

He had been… hit by a car?

As Axel shook his head, he dismissed the thought entirely. Even after he and Larxene shared some harsh words (him cursing her and her ancestors to the highest and lowest plains and the blonde woman crackling at him) and she finally left him alone in the too-clean-too-white room, the thought had been plaguing him. The explanation was so farfetched that even though it might have explained what he was doing lying on his back on crisp hospital sheets and wrapped in bandages it was unbelievable.

The nurses and doctors that ran in and out of the room examining him thought so as well. That was why he had been here now, staying overnight as they continue to run some tests and because he was doing well but they wanted to keep an eye on him 'just in case'.

There had been one of the most terrifying reassurances he had ever heard.

"_There have been cases," one of the five different nurses Axel had been seeing enter and exit his room stilled her note taking hand and turned from his many hook ups to look him in the eyes, "where the person hit by the car takes minimal damage to their person. Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones?" She smiled beautifully at Axel and he would felt inclined to let her know how beautiful if she weren't wearing floral print scrubs. Where had the days of tight, short, exposing white button up dresses gone?_

His eyebrows were raised and his lips were pursed as he let out a low whistle toward the plain ceiling. _Hit by a car, huh._ The sound of monitors beeping once more took the silence and Axel decided that it being in the hospital wasn't as bad as he began to drift off to sleep.

Xoxoxox

Someone was screaming hysterically. They were panicked and screaming at someone or something for…for something. He could not make out the words they were saying even though they sounded so close to him.

But, why not? He had excellent hearing.

And why was he laying on his stomach looking at a shadowed red and black sidewalk. Was it unique? Yes. But shouldn't he be doing something else? Why wasn't he getting up to do—

Cringing one second and regretting it the next, he discovered why.

Everything burned, stung and ached. Places he wasn't sure even existed felt like they were attempting to tear themselves apart. His insides were clawing their way outside, he felt, and it was making his head hurt as all the painful sensations simultaneously screamed at his brain to take notice. He tried to move to relieve the pressure somewhere but could not find it in him to so little as blink his eye without silently screaming in agony.

His fingers dug into the dirt and refused to relax their grip, even as his arm shook from the position. His chest felt hot and cold, like a faucet was running extremely hot water down on him. Sparks of pain pulsed from his legs and up his spine, sending every nerve ending into a frenzy that only seemed to cool when something wet rained down from a cloudless sky and trailed down his skin.

If the same 'something wet' was the same thing filling his mouth and throat and lungs then he knew what it was. The taste of copper and metallic tang…

It was blood.

It was his blood that he tasted on his tongue and he smelt in the air and he heard pulsing in his ears. It was his crimson blood he could see on the ground in front of him, mixing in a perfect blend with the color of his blown astray red hair.

But why and how? !

"What?" he tried, but gagged and spat up his late lunch and blood. _What the hell is going on?_

Against the protests of his beaten and bloodied body, he fought to move. His paler than possibly healthy body shook and trembled as he brought his hands to his sides. Slapping his palms down on the earth resulted in a moist squishing sound that almost made him throw up again if he reminded himself of what the moisture was. Adding pressure and trying to stand up...

He screamed loudly. Never had he felt pain like this before. Burning, snapping, ripping, pulsing numbness…

Someone was screaming at him, telling him to do or not to do…something.

He could hardly hear them over his screams.

…and he could hardly hear his own screams over his fading consciousness.

Xoxoxox

It was hardly any light out but Axel refused to let that stop him as he bit at his wrappings and threw off his clothing so he could get a better look at his body. It was stupid and would probably get him into a little trouble with the hospital staff when they had to come and rewrap his wounds but he could not shake that dream. As he revealed nothing but red inflamed skin and minor cuts and some scabs that looked like healing burn wounds met his inquiring gaze. Neither a sutra nor a stitch had been in his skin.

"But that damn dream…" Axel rested in chin in the palm of one hand as the other scratched the back of his head. He sat in silence recalling the dream and cursing his body for recalling every pain and pulsing lightly with it. The tearing and the blood…

"Dammit!" Axel spat, limbs and covers flying as he lay angrily back down on the hospital bed. He didn't have the time for this. He had to get out of the hospital so he could get back to work (in Larxene's words, the second his foot hit the curb of the hospital his womanly shaped ass was hers. Axel commented that his gave her something to aim for, so it was alright. She crackled in reply before she left.).

Exhaling, the redhead brought an arm to his chest and closed his eyes to sleep peacefully.

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Sora stood in the doorway of Roxas's room. The light color painted walls and the bright teenage decoration felt more like a deceit than anything else the brunet thought as he watched the blond crouched in on himself on the floor.

Roxas had his knees to his chest and his hands gripping so tightly to the fabric of his shirt over his shoulders that Sora would not be surprised if there were holes in it now. He shook harshly and twitched in every which way. His breathing was loud and harsh, sounding like a growl and a whine mixed into one awful sound that Sora so badly did not want to hear. And then there was the blood on the floor…

"Roxas?" He tried with a saddened tone, "How are you doing?"

Through limp blond bangs an unnaturally colored eye- bright yellow with a feline like slit in the middle and pitch black sclera- stared back at him.

"It's not your fault Sora," his voice shook and he groaned as more blood spilt to the floor beneath him. "It's that stupid package deliverer." Another grunt, followed by a whine as Roxas attempted to curl further into himself.

"…I _really_ hate that damn idiot…"


	4. Chapter Four: High Emotion

SlippingSanity : Hello all! Here is the next chapter! I'm trying to make these longer so the updates might take a little while longer. I hope you don't mind XD!

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and those who contributed to its creation...

**I would like to thank Liarsenic, sakurasapprentice7, and Khuronji for their reviews! Thank you so much! This faster updated chapter is for you all! I would also like to thank those who read/favorited/alerted this story! Thank you all so much and I hope you all enjoy!**

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Chapter Four: High Emotion

Those people who think 'I wish a car would hit me so I could get paid' probably have no idea what that entails. Courts and lawyers and a bunch of other legal stuff…

Axel had no idea what any of it meant either. He knew that saying 'you can not handle the truth' really did nothing but waste time and make an ass of the person saying it, but other than that, nothing. That might have explained why Larxene was pacing the hospital room with her hands in the air yelling at him.

"You settled? Dry seasonings and packaged foods settle- not victims of car accidents!"

Axel let her rant on about his choice as he bent over to tie his shoes. He was getting discharged today because the doctors could see nothing wrong with him, though they would contact his doctor 'just in case'. As the head doctor assistant explained things to him, a man and a woman Axel had never seen before came into the room and, after the assistant left, revealed themselves to be the man who hit him and the woman his lawyer.

To be fair, Axel ignored most of the man's blubbering and apologies because _'this dumbass hit me with his car!'_ was the only thing running in his thoughts. Munny talk, however, has always been more than enough to snap a fool out of their thoughts.

Axel swore he heard the cartoonish '_cha-ching_' in the background when the lawyer finally opened her mouth. Of course he would sell out for the total to be given to him!

45,000 munny! Yes, please!

Was it too much? Was it too little? He did not care at that point in time. He lived and received only a minimal amount of scarring, woke up and got nearly free money. And none of that extra legal crap. This was good because there were probably plenty of things that could get him in trouble if someone went investigating…

That was one of the things he neglected to tell Larxene.

"15,000? What were you thinking?" her hands were on her hips and glossed lips set into a frown as Larxene tapped the tip of her flat boots against the tiled floor.

Well, his past and the _actual amount_ of his settlement. That bit of information- he ducked his head to hide his smirk- was his and his alone.

"What can I say? I'm not exactly a fan of the legal system." Axel stood and stretched his arms above his head, sighing in relief when he heard his back crack. Much better… "So can we get out of here?" He dusted imaginary dirt off his jeans and yellow short sleeve shirt. Frowning at the clothes, Axel glared at Larxene without any actual venom. "…I still can't believe you brought me clothes…"

Larxene rolled her eyes and smiled at him. "I was doing you a favor. I knew that you wouldn't have any clothes when you got out and I brought you some." She slipped her hands into the pockets of her forest green cut off denim shorts. Her white, tight a-shirt over a yellow shirt with lace trimming that peaked out at the bottom stopped a little above her belly button, so the added weight of her hands in her pocket exposed a little more of her slightly toned stomach. "You should thank me," she teased.

"Really?" Axel replied sarcastically, noticing that her striped knee highs seemed to give her height that on a better day might have given her a more intimidating smirk. "How did you get my address?"

"Job files."

"Uh huh. And the key?"

"Didn't need one."

Axel looked unimpressed as he followed the blonde out the hospital room and whistled a sigh. _Whatever_… At least he got a free ride home and a change of clothes. He didn't think the hospital would let him leave in his deliv—

"Larxene? Where's my uniform?" the thought hadn't crossed his mind until now. He didn't care for the thing but it was a necessity for work. If he wasn't in terrible condition then his uniform shouldn't be either, so why didn't he receive it back from the staff?

Stopping at the elevator doors, she did not turn to him as she casually waved at him over her shoulder and said in a tone Axel had never heard from her before "It's alright," her tone was light and soft, "Don't worry about it."

Axel narrowed his bright green eyes but said nothing.

Xoxoxox

"If this isn't anything to be worried about, I don't know what is."

"What?"

"…nothing," Axel shook his head slowly as he made his way into his apartment with Larxene following. When they had been in the blonde's convertible Axel had been almost positive that she had leveled his little space, but if Larxene had not boasted about being in his place Axel would not have known she was there.

The layout of his apartment was pretty simple. A small entryway when the door opened led directly to the living room, so if the thunderstorm known as Larxene had struck he would have instantly noticed.

Mail and magazines he had tossed just a little too hard they slid off of the glass coffee and landed on the carpet were still there, the yellow pillows on the white couch still gently askew from nights he fell asleep on them. The few pictures Axel put up were still straight and the television wasn't on the floor spitting up sparks. Blinds were open and pushed aside to let in the sunlight but that was the only noticeable difference.

Looking back opposite the door was his kitchen. Only a granite counter top separated the small kitchen from the living room, so he did not have a dinner table or anything like that, but it was just him living there so it wasn't too bad. Leaning over the counter, he noticed there were still dishes in his kitchen sink he had yet to wash and dry dishes in the strainer that he needed to put away. Not a magnet was out of place on his refrigerator neither was his wooden cabinet doors clinging on by their last hinge. It was—

Larxene laughed loudly, snapping Axel out of his mental check listing. The sound was…nice. It was still as loud as her crackle but came smooth and inviting. "…would never approve," she shook her head with her eyes closed and lips pulled back into a teeth revealing smile, "and this isn't even that bad." Her hands were at her chest, one hand fiddling with the gold bracelet Axel recalled seeing on her wrist the first time they met. Her green eyes held a soft, far off look that was made more noticeable by the sunlight pouring in from the open windows. "That idiot…"

Ignoring the knotting in his stomach and the burning at his back from hearing the word 'idiot', Axel slowly made his way over to Larxene. "Who are you talking about?" he asked, but was just as surprised as her when she jumped into the air and turned around to look at him.

"What?" she leaned back, "What do you want?" Her hands met her hips and she rocked forward on her feet. "Hmm?" her smirk was back full force but her eyes lacked the intimidation she was trying to instill.

Pausing to think about whether or not to take a shower now or later, Axel passed her and decided on later. "Nothing. Just wondering what you were laughing about," Axel flopped down on his couch and began his never ending search for the television remote. Every time he wanted to look at TV he had to look in the cushions for the thing.

Taking a seat on the couch next to Axel and summoning the remote from seemingly no where (though it was more likely the remote was in between the cushions near her), Larxene replied in the same soft tone she had at the hospital, "Don't worry about it."

Axel remained silent as he found his eyes once more narrowed on Larxene.

Her channel surfing filled in the silence.

Xoxoxox

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" he held the bag away from him, frowning and grimacing at the contents.

Even with nothing but the stars and moonlight, he was able to see the singes and the tears and the…the blood.

He gulped loudly as he continued to hold the package by the tips of his index and forefinger at arms length. This was not what he sighed up for, he thought as he shook his head. Not by a long shot.

"I should _not_ have accepted this job," he turned away from the pack in his hands. "How did she even come across this? I thought stuff like this was thrown away or given to the police. Why did she give it to meee?" he whined. "Aw man! I told her I was the wrong guy for this…"

Inhaling deeply to steel his nerves, he turned back to the tattered uniform in the clear bag and nodded gravely. He had accepted the job (somewhat…) and there was no turning back. All his life he had to deal with things he would rather not and this would be no exception.

Ripping the bag open quickly, he dumped the contents on the concrete ground and took a large step back. Almost instantly the cool night town air around him blew sluggish and heavy. His breathing became labored, sweat collected on his forehead and he could hardly stand on his own two feet but he had to make sure. It felt the same, but…

With a trembling hand he unscrewed one of the twenty-four bottles of water he had with him. _Okay…_ He inhaled deep, only to choke for air. _What? !_ His eyes flew open wide, the bottles of water shook in the packaging as he continued to watch open mouthed in fear.

He could see it rising up off of the scrapped uniform- the negative waves of cursing and darkness plucking themselves from every fabric strand and weaving together in the air above him. No definite form took shape; only eyes of red and a smirking toothless mouth and large claws for hand that was on either side of him.

Looking from one palm on his left and another palm on his right his panic grew. He knew he should have said no. He knew he should not have taken this job! It was going to get him killed!

The rumbling snicker from the form seemed to be its agreement as it closed in on him, palms and toothless mouth.

He screamed loudly as the sounds of wind, dark chuckles, and water reached his ears.

Xoxoxox

Spitting her drink out on the nearest employee she stared at the redhead hire. "What? You are actually _willing_ to make the delivery to the Strife household?"

Axel raised an eyebrow at her reaction. She was the one who gave him the delivery to make, was she not? What did she have to be so shocked about? He was the one who got hit on their property and a week of uncomfortable days paid off was going back. If anyone was going to be shocked into spitting on anyone it should be him.

As it was, Axel flipped the pages on the clipboard to the first and slipped it under his arm. "Yeah, why not?" he shrugged nonchalantly, "I got hit, but I'm fine. No big deal, right?" The angry look on her face told Axel exactly what she thought so he attempted to placate her before she belted out a lot of profane words to tell him so. "I'll be careful, alright? Look both ways before touching the sidewalk and all that." He turned to leave, casually waving over his shoulder, "See—"

"You don't understand!" Larxene yelled at him, making him pause and turn back to look at her. Her green eyes were ablaze as she glared at her desk "That place…" her eyes strayed to a photo on her desk that Axel could not see the front of and he could have sworn Larxene was about to cry. "Those _Strife's_," she spat the name like venom.

"You gave me the listing, Larxene," Axel pointed out, trying to overlook the sudden onslaught of emotions she was displaying. A week of her popping in and out of his house and she never was like this. "If you are so opposed to me doing this, why give me their address?"

She looked uncomfortable as she stared at him, her expression a cross between flash anger and sadness.

"Whatever," She sat down in her chair. "Go, Axel. Get out." She shooed him out of her office. Watching him leave and close her office door behind him, Larxene breathed deeply. Resting her chin in the palm of one hand, Larxene gently picked up a photo in her other. "You know," she said to the picture as a soft smile she never showed anyone else made itself known, "I think that I went a little too far. I was only acting when he said he'd do it, but… I thought of you. I got carried away…"

xoxoxox

The sound of honking, tires speeding, and conversations overlapping one another echoed around him as he drove along. His eyes glared and his lips were turned slightly down as the tried to make sense of Larxene. All throughout his delivery day he had been trying to figure her out. She was as unpredictable as the lightning the company name roundabout associates itself with.

_What the hell?_ Axel shook his head as he pulled up to the house of his last delivery. Once more he was greeted with the sight of a red painted walkway and blue house.

Tossing the clipboard aside, Axel retrieved the package he had to deliver and slid the door open. "Roxas Strife…" he mock sang, "I have a package for you…"


	5. Chapter Five: Just Dreaming

SlippingSanity : Hello all! Here's the next chapter! Hope that you all enjoy! Also, I hope that this is longer, XD!

Disclaimer : I do not own. Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and those who contributed to its creation...

**Thank You sooo much Khuronji, reviewer, sakurasapprentice7, and sumbodysnobodyorsumthng for your reviews! ThankyouThankyouThankyou! Also, thank you to those who favorite/alerted/read this story! Thank you!**

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Chapter Five : 'Just Dreaming'

"Roxas, why do I sense someone else…cursed?"

Roxas looked up from the carpeted living room floor with an expression caught between guilt and rage. He met the older man's gaze glare-for-piercing-stare and cursed the other male for his intimidating appearance.

The man leaning on the wall across from Roxas had blond hair a little brighter than Roxas's own and blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. His skin was slightly tanned though it was almost impossible to make out past the shadows he tended to linger within. He wore a navy sleeveless cotton shirt and matching pants with buckles strapped in an 'X' around the bottom of both legs and clunky brown boots. He had armor on his left shoulder that extended to the top half of the arm and layered armor on his right hip, a belt around his waist connected with multiple others keeping them on. His right hand was gloved with a black knuckle cut under a red-brown knuckle cut glove, his left hand covered with a brown glove with golden talon-like fingers. Over it all was a red, decaying cape that covered half of his face and blew out behind him in some undetectable wind.

This was the being whose power he had weakened, Roxas thought with a shiver. He was tied to the other man for eternity.

"Roxas."

"There was this package deliverer. It's him." Roxas explained from his seated position on the floor in front of the well worn couch. He crossed his arms on the coffee table and rested his chin on them. "He got hit in front of out house. Died."

"…And you 'saved' him?" Roxas nodded. "Why?"

Looking at the black screen of the off television, Roxas answered softly, "Cloud," he addressed the other, "It happened in front of Sora."

"I see…" The mention of the brunet sleeping upstairs silenced any retort the taller blond had for Roxas, both of them understanding full well what he meant. Sora had seen enough death around them. He did not need to see any more. Neither of them did. Especially the man in the corner. _'We wish we could stop it.'_ Roxas lowered his head in his arms and exhaled slowly.

"Roxas? He has your number."

Jumping, Roxas turned to face the other with a blush on his cheeks. "He…that idiot messed up the resurrection. I don't know what it was- a twitch or final tick of movement, but he did it. The cut across my chest, the one that hadn't healed completely from your 'storm's' last attack, he scratched it open." Roxas held his hands over his chest, clenching tightly at the fabric as he pulled his knees to his chest. "My mark… I was weak and I bled _it_ onto him. And then he—"Roxas paused, shook his head and rested his forehead against his knees. Cloud did not need to know what happened after that. "He's stuck, Cloud." An image of the redhead stuck into his mind and Roxas could not say whether the situation was so bad or not. The idea was bad but the smile that slowly crossed his face seemed to counter the bad. "He's stuck…" he whispered with a smile and a blush.

Cloud nodded slowly and blinked suddenly. "Roxas?" He stared at the other with one eyebrow raised.

He looked back at the other and instantly regretted letting the one thought slip. The one eyebrow was raised? So he knew…"…Yeah, Cloud?"

Cloud shook his head. "I don't approve."

Roxas leapt to his feet, his arms waving wildly at his sides. "What? Why? I mean, it was just an accidental little—"

"Well, there's that," Cloud looked slightly amused at the other blond before his expression became dark, "but there's something about him. I know it. I can feel it." Walking in front of Roxas and staring at him directly in the eyes, Cloud told him something Roxas was not hoping to hear. "Stay away from him."

xoxoxox

Axel lay on his couch with a pillow to his face. He had not been feeling well since he had made his disappointing delivery to the Strife household. His head hurt more than any migraine he'd ever had and Larxene yelling at him earlier only made it worse. Was it his fault that no one was there to answer the Strife door? She seemed to think it was as she spent the last of her shift screaming him into submission. She sneered at him for taking the rest of the day off because his back hurt and then flipped him off telling him to take the remainder of the week off too since he 'was such a pussy'.

He wanted to be angrier but free time off tamed the salvage beast, or something like that. The redhead would have cheered but the pounding in his head made even the simplest things like blinking painful.

Groaning, Axel turned to the back of the couch and willed the setting sun's light away. The sunlight pouring in only strengthened the headache but he could not find the energy to close the shades. Grumbling loudly, Axel made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. He wanted to get some sleep but knew that it would be impossible with the way his head throbbed.

He knew it was illogical but for some reason he could not help but think that this was somehow Roxas' fault.

Rolling onto his back and foregoing his attempt at faux sleep, Axel stared at his ceiling without seeing. The blond had been on his mind for a while for some reason. He couldn't shake it, one moment he would be thinking about whether or not he needed to go food shopping and the next he was thinking about Roxas. Would Roxas like this? Does he eat that? How many frikkin' spoonfuls of sugar did he take with his coffee? To say that he was annoyed with his self was an understatement. What did he care about anything Roxas did? He had only met the kid once! Why was he obsessing over the little blond?

"Shit!" Axel spat into the silent air of his apartment. "What is wrong with me..?" He could not understand it. The thought of seeing Roxas again for some reason made him giddy and excited so he had agreed to make the delivery. He hid the reason under plenty of excuses both physical and mental, but the bottom line was that he was near desperate to see Roxas again. The need made his fingers twitch and his skin itch. It made him shiver and curl into himself, want and disgust coiling within him in equal parts. Roxas was some little boy he happened by on accident, but Axel felt some irrational pull to the other that screamed for more. He wanted Roxas near him, or maybe more.

Fear took hold of the redhead and threatened to pull him into the couch. Wh-what was he thinking? He…wanted Roxas? Like _that_? It couldn't be. He was many things but pedophile was not one of them. There was no way- absolutely _**no way**_ he could have wanted to be _anything_ to Roxas.

Then why did his mind and body believe differently?

"I need a drink." Axel leapt from the couch and made his way to his cupboard of liquor, disgusted with himself. He would burn the thoughts out of him with alcohol, and lots of it.

Xoxoxox

Roxas sat in the middle of his bedroom. The floor boards were covered in red blood, the crimson he had used to write words that no longer held meaning in the current worlds. They glowed with an ominous light from all over the room, casting creeping shadows along the walls and locked door and windows. The light covered over him as the air around him spiraled to near tornado proportions. The wind whispered dangerously in his ears, reminding him that he was a _curse_ and that he would be punished for using this magic but he shook his head in response. He knew what he was and the consequences but he desperately needed to see what was happening with the delivery man.

They were bonded now, he and the redhead, but nothing seemed to be any different from before. Roxas could sense Axel and in fact had been following him earlier in the day, but nothing drastic had happened. Roxas had called out to Axel, but the taller male had not heard his words. Even when Cloud told him to stay away from the red head because Cloud 'just knew' there was something about Axel, Roxas continued to reach out. Nothing happened still.

He could not wait any longer. Axel would hear him now, prepared or not.

Roxas closed his bright blue eyes and stretched his hearing as far as he could. Inhaling, he slowly opened his eyes. Gold against black pierced the ominous light, black veins beneath his pale flesh shown around his eyes and on his forehead. They webbed out in an almost grotesque manner, pulsing as he fought to make a connection with Axel.

'_It'll be easy. He has my number.'_

His background became nothing, his senses sharpening and spreading around the towns until he came across the person he was looking for. Zoning in on Axel, he breathed deeply and spoke.

"Axel? Can you hear me?"

xoxoxox

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Axel sat in a corner of the kitchen area, liquor cabinet open on his right and a bottle in his left hand. The sun had set a while ago, sometime before he had abandoned a shot glass and after he drank from the bottle. He prided himself on being somewhat of a classy drinker, glasses and proper etiquette that involved _sitting on a freaking chair_, but he could not find the ability to move from the collection of alcohol. Every time he collected himself enough to walk away, a drifting thought of Roxas that had not been burned away by his drink paralyzed him. "Now I'm hearing his voice?" Axel took another swallow. "I must be worse off than I thought…"

"_So you _can_ hear me?"_ It sounded like the blond boy was everywhere around him even though Axel knew that couldn't be. He was happily alone in his apartment even though his thoughts made the situation terrible. Hearing Roxas was just a nail in the coffin.

Figuring it couldn't hurt any more than it already did, Axel waved a hand in the air and answered his drunken hallucination the positive. "Yep. I can hear you _all around_." His tone was cheerful even though he felt far from it. "I only wish that I could see you," he spoke sarcastically as a bitter laugh left him, "_That_ would make my day." Axel tilted his head back and took a large swallow of the drink in his hand.

His inhale of drink nearly came out of his nose when he righted himself. _'It…can't be.'_ He thought as he stared at the image in front of him. "R-Roxas?" his words were barely a whisper.

Roxas was there, on his hands and knees in front of Axel. He looked slightly different than what Axel remembered, having gold and black eyes, spider veins, and looking more see-through than solid. It could have, however, just been a side effect of his drinking. The red head actually hoped all of this was a side effect, he wouldn't have felt so disgusted with his self that his mood elevated seeing Roxas.

"Is it…really you?" Axel asked disbelieving. A short, strangled cross between a whimper and an annoyed groan erupted from the redhead when the image nodded at him.

"_I've trying to see you for a while now."_ Roxas frowned at him, the effect still (Axel screamed inside) cute even though Axel could see the other side of his kitchen through the blond. _"For some reason, it's been hard to do that."_

Still in shock, Axel nodded slowly. "Well," he started shakily, "I'm right here." Gently placing the bottle on the kitchen floor but never letting it go, Axel urged Roxas to speak. "I'm here now. Go on, what is it?"

Roxas stared incredulously but shook his head to clear his thoughts and continued. _"Axel, you messed it up."_

"What?" Axel frowned, puzzled. "We finally get to speak and that is the first thing you have to say?"

"_Yeah."_ Roxas nodded, glaring at the redhead. _"You can joke about it now because you don't understand just how serious this is."_ The little blond exhaled angrily through his nostrils, his eerie eyes never once leaving the bright green of Axel. _"Axel, you don't—"_

"Well, you know what? Since we're both here and I 'don't understand a damned thing', why don't you start talking?" Axel sat up straighter, irritation becoming more and more evident in his posture and speech. Roxas remained silent, his eyes widening and black veins in length as his jaw dropped. Axel, though he may have still thought that maybe the expression was a _little_ cute, rolled his eyes and huffed. He was at his end. "I'm listening, Roxas."

Axel watched as Roxas continued to look at him with an expression of anger and disbelief. The young boy had yet to say anything, and Axel figured that he was in shock because maybe people didn't talk to Roxas the way he did. Axel blinked and thought that he may have been right. No normal person would argue with something that had eyes like Roxas did- all black-and-gold and vein outlined. But he was unlike anyone the world had ever come across. That was his power- being unique and unforgettable. He was instantly immortal.

Roxas, however, Axel could not put a label on him either. The kid was a freak, for lack of better words. He was quite possibly a monster or even a runaway project of some mad scientist, for all Axel knew. The redhead knew that the one in front of him was different the moment he had laid eyes on him. He just didn't know how.

'_And if Roxas doesn't talk I'll never know.'_ Axel thought as he brought his hand from the bottle to wave in front of the blond. "Hello? Roxas? You in there?"

Roxas pouted and slapped the hand away, surprising Axel with how solid Roxas was and how _real_ the stinging was. How was such a thing possible? He was dreaming!...right?

"_You're something else, you know that?"_ Roxas chuckled and sighed.

Testing his reality, Axel reached out a hand to Roxas. He gently dropped his hand on the top of Roxas's head and ran his fingers through blond locks. The sensation was off- like his fingers were touching the top of some fuzzy pillow instead of golden hair. Maybe he wasn't going crazy. Maybe he was still dreaming.

…hopefully…

"_Axel?"_ Roxas watched as the red head began to lean in close.

Axel's felt his body bend forward. His eyelids refused to open completely, remaining hooded as he took in the sight of a tense, puzzled Roxas. _'Heh heh. Cute.'_ Axel thought, licking his lips. His forehead rested against the uninvited, nearly transparent being in his place. The sensation was off to Axel, feeling more like he was leaning on solid air or as though he would fall over any moment. _'I _have_ been drinking…'_ "Roxas? I _am_ dreaming, right?"

Not in the mood to explain, Roxas nodded. "…close enough," he stared up, meeting a glowing emerald with wide gold eyes.

"That's good," Axel whispered as he slowly raised his hand to Roxas' cheek, "otherwise I'd feel terrible about this." He finished, lowering his lips to the surprised boy on his knees in front of him.

Xoxoxox

Gravel crunched beneath his leather boots, his multiple belts sounded as they bounced off one another, his rapid breathing leaving white puffs in the air. He made his way down the abandoned rain soaked streets with only streetlamps providing light as he desperately tried to outrun his blond haired pursuer. The fur on his leather jacket collar stuck to his skin from the heavy rainfall and tickled a bit when he turned his head from side to side to make sure his pathway was clear before proceeding, and his hand was cramping from carrying his weapon so tightly for so long but he did not have time to complain. The other would not be happy he had escaped again. He needed to keep running.

Sensing the other approaching, he frowned. "He'll be here soon," The running brunet whispered, glaring with piercing storm cloud color eyes. "But where?"

"Leonhart." A voice sounded from behind him and he turned with his weapon pointed and ready. Slowly revealing themselves, the figure emerged from the shadows with a disappointed frown on their face. "Where do you think you're going?"

The man, Leonhart, cursed and glared harder. "Don't come any closer or I'll shoot you, Cloud."

Cloud stood in the middle of the street, his cape billowing out behind him. "Let's go back," he spoke in a voice so soft the words were nearly lost to the wind and rain.

"Go to hell," Leonhart spat, forcing himself to keep still and not shiver from the words and the cold. He had worn leather so a lot of the rain rolled off of him, thankfully, but the weather was one of the last things on his mind.

Cloud was there. Cloud wanted to take him back.

He would never allow that to happen.

"Leon." Cloud held out his right hand. "Lets go."

The brunet gasped, his hold on his gunblade faltering briefly before he righted it. "Stay away from me, Cloud." He wanted to scream at the other but could barely find air to breathe much less the ability to yell. The cold blowing wind almost knocked him over and the falling rain weighed heavily but he remained resilient. He would leave. He had to. Staying with Cloud would-

"You aren't feeling well," Cloud interrupted, his glowing eyes bleeding purple. Leon knew that it would not be long before the purple faded to crimson red, and when that happened he would be held against his will again.

"Shut up, Cloud." He responded, taking aim. "I'm leaving."

"You need to come back with me—"

"I said shut. Up." Leon gritted between clenched teeth. His right side hurt and his left arm was going numb but he continued to hold his stance. It was because of Cloud that he felt this way. "It's your fault." Leon accused. "I'm sick and loosing my mind. I need to go back to the others, Cloud." Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Leon spoke over the growls that began to echo from the caped blonde's throat. "I'm leaving you." Thunder clapped off in the distance. "Tonight."

Crimson eyes stared at him from the top of a cape and Leon pulled the trigger rapidly. Cloud moved swiftly. Leon barely caught glimpses of the blond as he ran and dodged Cloud's attempts to grab at him. Dancing in the freezing rain away from frenzied grabs was never what he had in mind when he thought his escape through, but if he somehow managed to escape then he was not going to complain.

Sidestepping another frantic hand, Leon panted. A few stray strands of brown hair and droplets of blood fell to the dark, wet street.

"Cloud," Leon spoke calmly though he felt anything but, "I don't belong to you."

Leaping into the air and spinning, Leon struck Cloud in the head with the heel of his boot making him stagger. Thankful for the lucky blow, Leon closed his eyes and raised his left arm to the sky. Concentrating his energy, he reopened his eyes and brought his arm back down quickly. Pale blue lightning fell from the sky, following his direction.

Cloud let out an agonized scream and fell to the ground. He was alive, Leon knew, and it would not be long before he regained consciousness.

Choosing the moment to make his escape, Leon dismissed his gunblade and sighed. "Cloud," he whispered to the other groaning on the ground. He was twitching, little threads of blue lightning sparking here and there. "You know why I'm leaving." Watching the lightning end, Leon smiled sadly, softly. "I can't love a monster."

The sound of his retreating footsteps splashing echoed into the night.

Xoxoxox

Roxas inhaled sharply. Wh-what was Axel doing? Why was he kissing him? Not that he was complaining but…

"Ah, Axel," Roxas breathed when the red head pulled away. "What are you doing?"

Axel looked at him with hooded eyes, making Roxas's heartbeat increase. The green eyes looked so much brighter, so much more consuming through thick black lashes. Roxas swallowed thickly.

"Shh," Axel whispered in his ear, making him shiver. "I just want to indulge a little longer, alright?"

Roxas could think of no objection as Axel's lips descended upon his once more.


End file.
